1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hybrid vehicle in which an engine is connected to first driven wheels through a first motor/generator and a transmission, and a second motor/generator is connected to second driven wheels, the first and second motors/generators being connected to an accumulating means so that they are driven or regenerated.
2. Description of the Related Art
Such a hybrid vehicle is known from Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2001-112114. In this hybrid vehicle, even when the operation of any of the first motor/generator and the second motor/generator is limited, the correlation between the heat ratings of the first and second motors/generators is set in a particular state (specifically, a state in which the heat rating of the first motor/generator is higher than the heat rating of the second motor/generator) in order to appropriately control the distribution ratio of the driving forces or the regenerative braking forces to the front and rear wheels to ensure a travel stability.
In a hybrid vehicle including first and second motors/generators at front and rear wheels respectively, when both the first and second motors/generators at front and rear wheels are braked for regeneration during deceleration of the vehicle to recover an electric energy, if the distribution ratio of the braking forces to the first and second motors/generators is inappropriate, the behavior of the vehicle may become unstable, so that an appropriate braking effect may not be obtained in some cases. Moreover, the appropriate distribution ratio of the braking forces to the first and second motors/generators changes depending on the operational state of the vehicle, and hence it is insufficient to merely set the distribution ratio of the braking forces to be uniform.